Illegal fireworks use now subject to finesWith new code-enforcement laws in place, celebrating with fireworks outside certain dates are now subject to fines of up to $1,000, the Kodiak Island Borough announced in a reminder message to borough residents on Friday. The borough allows fireworks from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, as well as around the Fourth of July between June 15 and July 15. The borough code does not prohibit fireworks at certain times of day, but Fr...

Getting out of the messIs it possible for Leisnoi's (member of the board of directors) Jana Turvey, Debbie Lukin and Jeff Chester to get out from under the mess they created? The clear-cut land is a tax problem. It will be well more than 50 years before the trees will ever grow back to cover the ugly site. They will not receive any income to the corporation to pay the shareholders any dividends. Some of the shareholders have been crying...

Around Kodiak: Dec. 17Senior Citizens of Kodiak Inc. will be holding a forum on senior issues with Senator Gary Stevens and Representative elect Louise Stutes at noon on Monday, Jan. 5 at the Kodiak Senior Center. Come and have lunch and meet with state representatives about senior state issues and other concerns you might have. For more information, call the center at 486-6181.

The scoop about mastodons: Researchers were wrongA long, long time ago, a hairy elephant stomped the northland, wrecking trees and shrubs as it fed of twigs, leaves and bark. These mastodons left a few scattered teeth and bones in Alaska and the Yukon, reminders of an animal that lived as far south as Honduras. A recent look at those far-north mastodons shows the creatures vanished from the Arctic thousands of years before earlier than researchers had thought. A...

Teeing Off: Getting to know Kodiak’s newest hoops coachKrista Hicks hasn’t had any trouble sleeping, lately. Kodiak High School’s new girls basketball coach did have a few restless nights a couple weeks back. “I felt like I had so much to tell them (players) and I would just wake up, grab my phone, jot down all these notes and go back to sleep. It was a bit ridiculous. It was a good thing my husband was out of town, he would have killed me.” Hicks’ husband is a Coast ...

Stage and Screen: 'Interstellar' and 'The Homesman' — A lesser of two evils Movie reviewing is a serious undertaking. While there is certainly room for variation in film commentary – many wonder what film a particular reviewer saw when they assigned a “rave review” to a movie which seems second class, at best. Several years ago a movie review exposé highlighted “hired-gun” reviewers who were apparently paid by some production companies to publish rave reviews that could be quoted in promo...

Actors audition for 'Tarzan'A crowd of students and adults sang, danced and gamboled around the stage on Friday, all in an effort to get a part in the upcoming Kodiak Arts Council production of the musical “Tarzan.” Lissa Woodbury-Jensen, who has directed a number of other theater productions in Kodiak, is directing and choreographing “Tarzan.” After seeing the kids and adults audition, Woodbury-Jensen said, "I think we have a great mix, and...

Horn posts double-double in GermanyBy DEREK CLARKSTON Mirror Writer Alysa Horn busted out of a mini slump with her first double-double of the year. Horn poured in 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Osnabruck’s 77-69 victory over Lichterfelde in a Bundelisga second division women’s professional basketball game Sunday. The Kodiak High School product was held to single-digit scoring in her two previous games. That wasn’t the case Sunday in the final...